what football team has a bird logo

I’ve been watching birds rush, tackle, and pass all weekend. Well, NFL players whose teams bear the name of a bird. Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta Falcons. Today the Seattle Seahawks face the Chicago Bears. The football frenzy has got me wondering what species these avian ambassadors might be. Photo: US FWS The Baltimore Ravens, who suffered a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, is probably the common raven. Don’t be fooled by the “common”—ravens are corvids and among the smartest birds. Photo: US FWS As for the Seattle Seahawks, I’m guessing it’s an osprey. This fish-eating bird is one of the largest birds of prey in North America, and is found on every continent except Antarctica. Photo: US FWSArizona Cardinals: northern cardinal. (A much closer match than the Angry Bird that resembles a cardinal.) These eye-catching birds don’t migrate, so their bright-red plumage stands out against snow-covered landscapes in the winter. In the spring, it’s not unusual to spot a cardinal fiercely attacking its reflection in a window or car mirror—they’re protecting their territory from intruders. Photo: US FWSPhiladelphia Eagles: bald eagle. Our national emblem, the bald eagle came close to extinction in the lower 48 states because of DDT poisoning. They’ve bounced back, and were taken off the endangered species list in 2007.

But what about the Atlanta Falcons? Perhaps a Peregrine falcon or merlin? They both winter in Georgia. American kestrel (above) might be a better guess, given that it lives in Georgia year-round and has reddish-orange markings. (The Falcons were trounced Green Bay Packers yesterday…which made me wonder what, exactly, is a Packer? According to Wikipedia, team founder Curly Lambeau received funds for the uniforms from his employer—the Indian Packing Company—on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Hence the nickname.) Finally, for those bird lovers who also love football, it turns out there’s a gift that marries those two passions: NFL-themed bird feeders. Birdseed not included.

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I’ve been watching birds rush, tackle, and pass all weekend. Well, NFL players whose teams bear the name of a bird. Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta Falcons. Today the Seattle Seahawks face the Chicago Bears. The football frenzy has got me wondering what species these avian ambassadors might be. Photo: US FWS The Baltimore Ravens, who suffered a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, is probably the common raven. Don’t be fooled by the “common”—ravens are corvids and among the smartest birds. Photo: US FWS As for the Seattle Seahawks, I’m guessing it’s an osprey. This fish-eating bird is one of the largest birds of prey in North America, and is found on every continent except Antarctica. Photo: US FWSArizona Cardinals: northern cardinal. (A much closer match than the Angry Bird that resembles a cardinal.) These eye-catching birds don’t migrate, so their bright-red plumage stands out against snow-covered landscapes in the winter. In the spring, it’s not unusual to spot a cardinal fiercely attacking its reflection in a window or car mirror—they’re protecting their territory from intruders. Photo: US FWSPhiladelphia Eagles: bald eagle. Our national emblem, the bald eagle came close to extinction in the lower 48 states because of DDT poisoning. They’ve bounced back, and were taken off the endangered species list in 2007.

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But what about the Atlanta Falcons? Perhaps a Peregrine falcon or merlin? They both winter in Georgia. American kestrel (above) might be a better guess, given that it lives in Georgia year-round and has reddish-orange markings. (The Falcons were trounced Green Bay Packers yesterday…which made me wonder what, exactly, is a Packer? According to Wikipedia, team founder Curly Lambeau received funds for the uniforms from his employer—the Indian Packing Company—on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Hence the nickname.) Finally, for those bird lovers who also love football, it turns out there’s a gift that marries those two passions: NFL-themed bird feeders. Birdseed not included.

Atlanta Falcons Alright, here is the time for some real tough, badass birds! None of these wimpy orioles and jays, we want some tough birds to represent some tough guys! And what could be tougher than a falcon? The fastest birds in the sky! Lightning-quick raptors that swoop from the sky! Surely the Atlanta Falcons would honor this noble family through a cool logo!

On my own site, I sometimes like to explore the ways birds and birders are misunderstood by the media and the general public. It may be nitpicky, and the people may mean well, but I’ve spent a lot of time honing my power of bird-observation, and I’m not going to turn it off just because I’m at home on the couch. Plus, if you’re producing a big-budget American TV commercial, how hard is it really to make sure that the bird you’re using isn’t restricted to, say, the South American rainforest? Isn’t that your job? I mean, there’s a reason he’s named Smoky the Bear and not Smoky the Wallaby, right?

Ugh, where to begin? First, falcons have very distinct, angular wings, a feature completely botched in the logo (the logo bird’s wings look more like, what, passerines?). Second, although there is such a thing as a Black Falcon, it lives in Australia, not Atlanta. And what’s with the leg sticking out? Is he injured? Sigh. So much wasted potential. Grade: D-

Regardless of whether some hotshot commercial producer cares, I care. You know what else I care about? Sports. And, as it just so happens, sports teams represent (and misrepresent) birds all the time in their team logos. So today I’m going to do a breakdown, UniWatch style, of the best and worst bird-themed sports logos in the National Football League. Grades will be given out based on ornithological accuracy and whatever other criteria I see fit. Let’s do it!

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